Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for April 11, 2017

by

 

Clif's Notes

With a month remaining in the state’s legislative session, I wanted to give you an update on our work with the Missouri General Assembly.

Focus on the budgetCarrington Hall

We have spent an enormous amount of time working with our elected leaders on appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year.

You will recall that due to a revenue gap for the state, Governor Greitens’ budget recommendations for fiscal year 2018 included an $8.2 million reduction to our core operating appropriation. Governor Greitens also recommended that appropriations designated for higher education projects, including our collaborative mechanical engineering program, be eliminated from the budget.

Last week the House of Representatives passed its budget. This budget includes approximately $2.1 million more than the Governor’s recommendations in our operating appropriation. It also includes $1 million — half of last year’s total — for the collaborative mechanical engineering program. Our southwest Missouri members in the House worked very hard to reduce the impact that the state’s budget gap will have on Missouri State University. I want to thank Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, chair of the House Budget Committee, in particular for his strong leadership.

The Senate will immediately begin to work on the budget. We have already met with our local senators and the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to advocate for additional funding.

We will continue to monitor the budget process, meet with our elected representatives and work to achieve the best possible budget position given the state’s revenue situation.

Legislation on degree offeringsState Capitol building

We have also worked this year on legislation that would create a pathway for Missouri State  to expand its professional doctorate degree offerings.

You will recall that I was part of a task force that met throughout the past year to resolve several concerns about the state’s academic program approval process. This task force reached a consensus solution to many concerns, and all public universities and community colleges agreed to support the final report from that task force. Removal of the statutes currently limiting Missouri State’s ability to offer professional doctorate programs was one of the solutions recommended in the report.

Two bills were filed this year to implement the task force recommendations — one bill was filed in the House and the other in the Senate.

I am pleased to report that the House passed one of these bills by a vote of 141 to 5. Our southwest Missouri members of the House of Representatives were very supportive. I want to thank Rep. Kevin Austin and Rep. Steve Cookson for leading the charge to get this bill passed in the House.

The Senate has debated the other bill but not yet passed it. We remain actively engaged with our senators, and we are continuing to advocate for the passage of this important legislation.

Other important legislationDogwood in bloom

We have been engaged on other legislation throughout the session as well. Many of the bills we opposed last year (e.g., limitations on ability to bond, elimination of student health fees, etc.) have not been debated this year.

Last year we addressed multiple bills that would have drastically reduced the Board of Governors’ ability to regulate the possession of firearms on campus. Similar bills were dormant this year until a few weeks ago when one House bill gained modest momentum. This bill would authorize permit holders to possess firearms on university campuses and in several other areas where property owners may currently prohibit firearms. Unlike last year’s bills, this bill does not include any carve outs or exceptions for particular areas and situations on campus where firearms may be prohibited.

The House General Laws Committee held a hearing on the bill yesterday, and we testified in opposition. We have also met with the bill sponsor to advocate for the university on this bill. We will continue to monitor this legislation and work to ensure that our Board of Governors retains the ability to reasonably regulate firearms on campus.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Dec. 13, 2016

by

Clif's Notes

I want to update you on a positive development.

Good news for Glasscfoc-glass_hall-large

Last Wednesday, Governor Jay Nixon came to campus to announce that he is releasing the $1.875 million that has been withheld from the Glass Hall project. We couldn’t be more ecstatic about this decision. The withholding required us to modify the work to be completed in Glass Hall. With these released funds, additional work will be completed to further update and repair the home to the largest public business school in the central Midwest.

This is another example of Governor Nixon’s efforts to prioritize higher education during his term in office. I want to thank Governor Nixon and his staff for all of their contributions to Missouri State University and the State of Missouri.

Governor Nixon’s release of the Glass Hall funds is especially good news because of the state of Missouri’s revenue shortfall and dim budget projections for next year. As we move into legislative session in January, I will keep you informed about the status of state appropriations and the university’s budgeting process.

Congratulate our graduatesStudent celebrating after commencement

On Friday the university will award 1,476 degrees at fall commencement. Please join me in celebrating our graduates’ accomplishments at two commencement ceremonies — one at 10 a.m. and the other at 1:30 p.m. — in JQH Arena.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for June 14, 2016

by

Clif's Notes

Last week the Board of Governors had its June meeting in West Plains. I wanted to update you on several of the board’s actions.

Students on campusNew budget includes variety of wage increases

The board approved the university’s fiscal year 2017 budget. Under the budget, there will be no increase in tuition for in-state undergraduate students. The budget includes:

  • A 2 percent across-the-board raise for fulltime employees
  • A $250,000 staff pool for additional raises based on merit and equity
  • A graduate assistant wage increase
  • More than $250,000 for faculty promotions
  • The third year of pay raises under the Professor Salary Incentive Program
  • $900,000 for new faculty positions
  • $60,000 in increased diversity investment

Board approves long-range plan

The board approved the 2016-2021 long-range plan. As you know, the university engaged in a two-year process to establish a campus-wide vision and to develop the final plan document. Thanks to Gloria Galanes who chaired the long-range plan steering committee and everyone who worked with Dr. Galanes to develop the plan. This summer we will begin the first stage of implementing the long-range plan by developing our action items and priorities for 2016-2017.

Other board actions

The board also approved our fiscal year 2018 capital appropriations request. This request is a vehicle the university uses to request state investment in certain facilities on our campuses.

The board approved a revised contract with Coach Kellie Harper. The revised contract extends the term of her employment to 2021, includes a $12,500 salary increase and includes a $100,000 incentive payment that will be paid if Coach Harper stays through April 2019. The salary increase and incentive payment funded are completely with private gifts.

The board also approved changes to the Faculty Handbook. The revisions clarify the employment status of faculty on sabbatical, clarify when a faculty member has professional responsibility with regard to a student, and make several technical changes to the Academic Personnel Grievance Process and the Professional Practices Review Process.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for May 24, 2016

by

Clif's Notes

The legislative session ended on Friday, May 13. You may recall that we started the year with three legislative priorities. I am happy to report that we made significant progress toward accomplishing all three of our priorities.

The Plaster Stadium Bear Statue with the U.S. Flag at half-staff in the background.Legislative session successful for MSU

Our first priority was to increase Missouri State’s operating appropriation by six percent ($5.2 million). If the legislature increased the operating appropriation by six percent, we committed to spend one-sixth of the new money to expand our collaborative engineering program with Missouri S&T to include mechanical engineering.

The legislature appropriated Missouri State an operating appropriation increase of more than $3.8 million. The legislature also appropriated a $1 million line item to Missouri State for the collaborative engineering program with Missouri S&T.

Accordingly, Missouri State added a total of more than $4.8 million in operating appropriations this year. This is a 5.6 percent increase to Missouri State’s total operating appropriations. Missouri State’s operating appropriation for the coming fiscal year will be the highest that it has ever been.

glass renovation 19244-4372 (1)Glass Hall, occupational therapy funded

Our second priority was to obtain a $5 million appropriation in matching capital funds for the Glass Hall project. The legislature passed a capital improvement bill that appropriated $7 million for new capital projects at Missouri State—including $5 million for the Glass Hall project.

We also accomplished our third priority for the year by having our $1.3 million occupational therapy line-item appropriation combined into a single line item within Missouri’s State’s operating appropriation. This is a cost neutral move. But we believe this accounting change will help secure the line item from vetoes and withholds in future years. It also allows future performance funding increases to be calculated on the $1.3 million occupational therapy appropriation.

We worked on several other legislative issues this year. We supported legislation that would have allowed Missouri State University greater flexibility to offer professional and doctoral degree programs. While this legislation did not pass, it started a conversation about the issue which resulted in a directive to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to work with the higher education community in Missouri and propose a solution to the General Assembly. We are hopeful that we will obtain additional flexibility for professional and graduate degree programs through legislative or non-legislative solutions in the not too distant future.

We opposed legislation that would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to carry concealed firearms on university campuses. The General Assembly did not pass this legislation this year.

18278_1593-Clif's-Notes-CapitolSuccess due to legislative support of Missouri State

All of our southwest Missouri legislators played important roles in this year’s legislative successes. I want to thank several individual legislators who played especially critical roles:

  • Ron Richard
  • Jay Wasson
  • Kurt Schaefer
  • Mike Cunningham
  • Mike Parson
  • David Sater
  • Eric Schmitt
  • Todd Richardson
  • Kevin Austin
  • Tom Flanigan
  • Scott Fitzpatrick
  • Lincoln Hough
  • Eric Burlison
  • Jeff Messenger
  • Jered Taylor

University weighing options for revised Fair Labor Standards Act

We are also evaluating various issues working through the federal government in Washington D.C. One such issue is the Fair Labor Standards Act changes that came out last week. We are reviewing the final rule and its impact on Missouri State employees. We know we have a number of employees who will be affected by this change. We will be evaluating all options available to us to determine how we will incorporate the new rule at the university. It is a priority for us and we’ll be ready for the Dec. 1 implementation date for the changes, assuming Congress doesn’t intervene.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for March 15, 2016

by

Clif's Notes

 

 

 

 

I wanted to give you an update on the legislative session in Jefferson City. We have been engaged on many issues this year. I have testified on several bills as have other administrators at Missouri State.

Key budget itemsMissouri capitol building

Last week, the House of Representatives passed a budget. The House’s budget consolidated our $1.3 million appropriation for the occupational therapy program on the Springfield campus and health programs on the West Plains campus into our core appropriation.

The House’s budget also included a new $2 million line item to expand our collaborative engineering program with Missouri University of Science and Technology. The House’s budget included a 2 percent performance increase for higher education institutions.

However, that increase is paid out of a surplus revenue fund, which would mean that the additional funds would not be received until the end of the year, and only if state revenues reach a certain level. The impact is that we would not be able to budget the performance funding increase for the next fiscal year.

The budget will now move to the Senate, and we will work to maintain the progress we made in the House and to improve our position on the performance funding increase.

Concealed carry bills update18858_0034-Value

We continue to oppose legislation that would allow students and others with concealed carry permits to carry firearms on campus. A new bill was filed in the House by Rep. Jered Taylor last week.

While we still have concerns about this bill, it would allow public universities more flexibility to regulate the possession of firearms on campus.

The Senate bills have not yet been voted out of the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety committee, but we expect that to occur in the near future. We remain concerned about and have been actively engaged on these bills.

Expanding degree opportunitiesGraduate programs

I was joined last week by leaders at other public universities in the state to testify in support of the degree legislation I discussed in a prior Clif’s Note.

This legislation is critical to allowing Missouri State and other public universities in the state to develop professional and doctoral programs to serve the needs of the state.

The legislation has very strong opposition. To the extent you have contacts with our elected leaders in Jefferson City, I would encourage you to reach out to them in support of this legislation.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!